Liverpool open their summer schedule in convincing fashion, with Divock Origi finding the net on his debut. Cameron Jerome continues his fine pre-season form for Norwich, Moussa Sissoko nets for Newcastle, whilst Bournemouth put four past Philadelphia Union.
True Thai Premier League All Stars 0 Liverpool 4
Brendan Rodgers fielded two different XIs in each half of the Reds’ victory in Bangkok, handing debuts to Adam Bogdan, Nathaniel Clyne, Divock Origi, James Milner and Joe Gomez. The Northern Irish manager deployed his charges in a 4-4-2 midfield diamond from the start, with Lucas Leiva shielding the defence, Joao Carlos Teixeira and Jordan Rossiter playing just ahead, and Lazar Markovic operating from the tip behind a strike duo of Rickie Lambert and Danny Ings. Teixeira delivered an inch-perfect pass for Markovic to latch onto and score the opener, before serving up an accurate corner for Mamadou Sakho to double the lead.
After the break, Rodgers then tinkered with his tactics and rolled out a 4-3-3 formation, with Origi leading the line as a lone striker. Adam Lallana added the third after being introduced in the second half, while Origi capped off the scoring with a close-range header from a Jordan Henderson corner.
Post-match, Rodgers praised Origi’s performance, with the Belgian also striking the woodwork twice prior to finding the net:
“I thought he was excellent. You can see his movement and what really pleased me tonight was his persistence. He had a couple of chances that he missed that he would want to score. But he kept going, he was very positive, and obviously he showed how good he is in the air. [It was] a great cross into the box and it was a good header that he scored, so we’re very pleased for him.”
Hitchin Town 0 Norwich City 10
Alex Neil’s outfit dispatched of the seventh division side in clinical fashion, boosting their goal output to 17 from just two pre-season fixtures. Neil elected to name two unique XIs either side of the half, with the first wave of players lining up in a 4-3-3 formation. Jamar Loza and Josh Murphy supported central striker Cameron Jerome, with Alexander Tettey, Graham Dorrans and Louis Thompson manning the midfield. Jerome (5.0) once again made the difference in the early exchanges, bagging a brace in the first half to send the Canaries into the dressing room 2-0 up – he’s now scored five times in two matches, albeit against lower level opposition.
The second half saw Gary Hooper spearhead a 4-2-3-1 set-up, with Tony Andreu, Wes Hoolahan and Jacob Murphy forming the three, and Youssouf Mulumbuu earning his debut in the double pivot. The Canaries scored at ease after the break: Andreu netted a hat-trick, Gary O’Neil recorded a brace, and Hoolahan and Steven Whittaker grabbed a goal apiece. After the encounter, Neil confirmed that Norwich are not contending with any fresh injuries while revealing that his players will be afforded increased pitch time from here on in:
“It’s just a case of making sure that we get good quality work in without picking up injuries. Our quality at times was fantastic throughout the game, but we need to step up again with the opposition that we’re going to face. The game on Friday will see everyone go from playing 45 minutes to playing 60. We’ll gradually bring it up to the 90-minute mark.”
Philadelphia Union 1 Bournemouth 4
The Cherries cruised to victory in their pre-season opener, with manager Eddie Howe handing minutes to 24 players. New signing Joshua King produced a cool finish after 20 minutes to break the deadlock, before Calum Wilson extended the visitors’ lead with a side-footed effort. Marc Pugh popped up for Bournemouth’s third with a curling strike, while a converted penalty from Tokelo Rantie rounded off the scoring after Pugh was felled in the box.
Howe was quick to talk up the performances of three debutants (Sylvain Distin, Christian Atsu and Tyrone Mings) after the final whistle, highlighting Mings’ attacking threat in particular:
“I thought all the new guys really put their mark on what they are going to bring to the squad. Sylvain (Distin) with his experience, Christian (Atsu) with his ability and flair, and Tyrone (Mings), while he was on the pitch, was marauding and looked a real threat, so I was delighted.”
Club Atlas 2 Newcastle United 1
The Magpies tasted defeat in the first match of their US tour, with Moussa Sissoko supplying their solitary goal. Steve McClaren fielded his starting line-up in a 4-3-2-1 formation, with Sissoko, Siem de Jong (in “the hole”) and Yoan Gouffran playing behind lone striker Papiss Cisse. Vernon Anita and Jack Colback occupied the double pivot, while the back five was comprised of Tim Krul, Daryl Janmaat, Mike Williamson, Jamaal Lascelles and Massadio Haidara.
Sissoko cut the hosts’ lead just before the half, following two goals in quick succession from Club Atlas frontman Gonzalo Ruben Bergessio. The Toon came closes to equalising through Cisse – who saw his header saved on the goal line by the opposing keeper – but couldn’t breach the Mexican outfit’s defence in the second 45. McClaren enacted six changes with 20 minutes left on the clock, affording minutes to Rolando Aarons, Ayoze Perez and Gabriel Obertan.
Sacramento Republic 1 Sunderland 0
Dick Advocaat opted for a 4-4-2 set-up in the Black Cats’ second pre-season run-out. Wes Brown and John O’Shea formed the centre-back pairing, while debutant Adam Matthews and youngster Tom Beadling were deployed in the full-back berths. Jermain Defoe and Steven Fletcher played ahead of a four-man midfield comprised of Lee Cattermole, Jack Rodwell, Sebastian Larsson and Emanuele Giaccherini.
Fletcher proved to be the Wearside club’s biggest threat, testing the keeper with a low strike and clattering the crossbar with a header in the first half. Will Buckley, Connor Wickham, Danny Graham and Liam Bridcutt were also given minutes in the second half.
In terms of absentees, Patrick van Aanholt (injury), Sebastian Coates (extended rest due to Copa America duties) and Adam Johnson (visa issues) all missed out but are expected to join up with the tour at some point.
Finally, a reminder that we’re collating all the pre-season action via a dedicated section here as the action unfolds.
8 years, 10 months agoSo who has decent defensive prospects for the first few fixtures? I had originally picked Williams but Swansea have got some tricky ones.